On December 4th, Freehold Township’s Team Challenge, a business ethics club, competed at the district’s annual competition to showcase their presentation on an ethical issue in the world.

The team, guided by Mr. Cooper and Mrs. Bonaly, were assigned a task back in October to create a 15 minute interactive presentation on an ethical issue either in the business world or society in general. Unlike years past, the organization did not give each school a topic to present, rather, each school had to do research and find their own. After weeks of deliberating, the team decided to present a case on harsh sentencing in the federal justice system, and how this is unethical for people who commit certain crimes.

The framework of Freehold Township’s presentation was based around a real-life court case involving Sharanda Jones, a woman who was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after being accused of selling drugs. The main focus of their presentation was that although Sharanda had done something wrong, she does not deserve to spend her entire life in prison, therefore showing that the United States Federal Justice System is giving out unethical sentences for certain crimes. The presentation included a mock-court scene depicting the events of Sharanda’s trial and a “60 minutes” interview describing Sharanda’s side of the story. To top an already stellar presentation off, the team performed the 15 minute spectacle without a single script. Intensive research, including speaking with Sharanda’s lawyer and finding shocking statistics on sentencing disparities in our local area paid off and called for a great presentation.

Overall, Freehold Township placed 3rd at the competition, coming behind Marlboro High School in 2nd and Colts Neck High School claiming 1st. The judges were thoroughly impressed with how everyone memorized the script, also noting that everyone on the team was able to contribute to the presentation. The team included Neilank Avani, Tiffany DeMonte, Tierney Egan, Gabriel Goldsmith, Aliceya Jerome, Christian Pascoal, John Ross, Mario Sirico, Joseph Lodge, and Vannessa Varlack. Congrats to the members and team leaders on 3rd place!